Abstinence is a vote of consent by silence, by willingly removing themselves from the result they tacitly accept the result.

Anyone who boycotted the vote must be removed from any calculations w.r.t. the voting population, they literally chose to remove themselves from the voting population and no amount of wishful thinking or number manipulation can change that fact.

Not abstinence, boycott. Thereís a difference...

Why move to vote to something illegal since itís anyway illegal ? It would be pretty stupid...

Legally it still belongs to Spain. Thatís the only thing that matters, until they are independent and decide who it belongs to, it belongs to Spain.

Your rhetoric is actually very dangerous, according to t tomorrow the ANC can say that the money of Anglo American and BHP and Pnp was earned by black workers. Therefore it shouldnít go to it legit owners.

Well that's entire reason behind the referendum.

Get R50 off your first two UberEats orders when you use the offer code " CTEATS110 "

Participating legitimizes the referendum, which is exactly the opposite of the no camp’s goal
It seems to be a very difficult concept to understand for you.
If a real and lawful referendum was organized, the no camp would go vote (as they did in the 2011 non binding consultation if I remember correctly).

Over 90% of the population wanted the referendum to happen and it was NEVER going to be a legal one given Spain's gestapo tactics.

There is no 'no camp' that was simply opposed on the ground of legality, at best they could represent 10%; that is the consistent number across every poll.

Seems all of that is very difficult for to to comprehend as you pretend the boycotting group could feasibly be a majority for the 'no camp' (they simply can't) and you pretend a legal referendum is even possible (it simply isn't).

Funny you mention the 2011 consultation which had a much more pathetic turnout than 2014 or 2017, yet fail to mention 2014 which was legal until the Spanish government saw the way the wind was blowing and unilaterally declared it illegal. That vote had a similar turnout and result as 2017 and by all practical accounts was legal.

Over 90% of the population wanted the referendum to happen and it was NEVER going to be a
legal one given Spain's gestapo tactics.

There is no 'no camp' that was simply opposed on the ground of legality, at best they could represent 10%; that is the consistent number across every poll.
Seems all of that is very difficult for to to comprehend as you pretend the boycotting group could feasibly be a majority for the 'no camp' (they simply can't) and you pretend a legal referendum is even possible (it simply isn't).

Funny you mention the 2011 consultation which had a much more pathetic turnout than 2014 or 2017, yet fail to mention 2014 which was legal until the Spanish government saw the way the wind was blowing and unilaterally declared it illegal. That vote had a similar turnout and result as 2017 and by all practical accounts was legal.

Pretty sure majority would of voted "No" because of common sense but Spain's handling of it pushed them into the "Yes" camp.

Get R50 off your first two UberEats orders when you use the offer code " CTEATS110 "

Over 90% of the population wanted the referendum to happen and it was NEVER going to be a legal one given Spain's gestapo tactics.

There is no 'no camp' that was simply opposed on the ground of legality, at best they could represent 10%; that is the consistent number across every poll.

Seems all of that is very difficult for to to comprehend as you pretend the boycotting group could feasibly be a majority for the 'no camp' (they simply can't) and you pretend a legal referendum is even possible (it simply isn't).

Funny you mention the 2011 consultation which had a much more pathetic turnout than 2014 or 2017, yet fail to mention 2014 which was legal until the Spanish government saw the way the wind was blowing and unilaterally declared it illegal. That vote had a similar turnout and result as 2017 and by all practical accounts was legal.

Then Iíll let you support the legitimacy of
the independence.

Even the Catalan Parliament is against the declaration of independence, even the mayor of Barcelona (people who are separatists and far more aware of the situation than you or I will ever be).

Itís going to be fun with the army in next week... I guess that as a good keyboard separatist, you wonít be in the streets to support the separatists against the Spanish tyranny !

Even the Catalan Parliament is against the declaration of independence

Is that why the vast majority of them were giving a standing ovation to the Catalan president this week?

Originally Posted by f2wohf

I guess that as a good keyboard separatist, you won’t be in the streets to support the separatists against the Spanish tyranny !

Why would I be? I'm not a Catalan, this isn't my fight, I merely support their (and anyone's) right to self determination. Curiously though it isn't your fight either, yet you feel comfortable dooming people to oppression while they're desperately crying out and protesting for freedom for over a decade ...

Catalans vote to split from Spain amid violent police crackdown

Originally Posted by NarrowBandFtw

More than happy to.

Is that why the vast majority of them were giving a standing ovation to the Catalan president this week?

Why would I be? I'm not a Catalan, this isn't my fight, I merely support their (and anyone's) right to self determination. Curiously though it isn't your fight either, yet you feel comfortable dooming people to oppression while they're desperately crying out and protesting for freedom for over a decade ...

It is somehow a little my fight, i do have a Spanish passport in addition of the french one although I consider myself 90% french.

I had no doubt that you didnít care about European nations. At this pace, weíll end up with 6237 Nations at the UN in 20 years if each province with a distinct language and culture across the world wants its independence. Very convenient for business, for traveling, not igniting conflicts at all.

At this pace, we’ll end up with 6237 Nations at the UN in 20 years if each province with a distinct language and culture across the world wants its independence

From your lips to God's ears!

Originally Posted by f2wohf

Very convenient for business, for traveling, not igniting conflicts at all

Yes, because travel, business and peace in general was so much better in the soviet union ...

Originally Posted by f2wohf

The standing ovation was when he proposed to negotiate, not the DUI.

The same group was applauding loudly when he stated outright the result of the vote is legitimate and Catalonia now has the right to assert its sovereignty i.e. they were supporting his every word, including statements of independence being Catalonia's right.

And if they manage to get independence, every single region in Europe has the right to independence, breaking European unity, economic strength and political power. Sounds like a great plan to annihilate Europe.

There are 4 separatists movements in Spain that I can recall of, 5 in France and apparently over 200 in Europe.

But I do agree, Spain dealt badly with it and should have allowed a referendum. The separatists would most likely have lost anyway.

So YOU decide when people are justified to rebel and when not? I don't have a problem with every region being ruled separately. More localised government, more accountability. If Spain held a referendum it would most likely have resulted in the outcome we saw as that's what the majority of polls indicated, why they didn't allow it.

Originally Posted by f2wohf

Not abstinence, boycott. There’s a difference...

Why move to vote to something illegal since it’s anyway illegal ? It would be pretty stupid...

They might have voted yes as well but wanted a legal referendum first. You keep dodging the questions I asked you. You claim 200 municipalities weren't able to vote. These aren't boycotts but being prevented to vote. So these would have been among the 'yes' and 'no' votes with likely the same 90%/10% outcome. How can you claim them to only count for the 'no' votes?

Catalans vote to split from Spain amid violent police crackdown

Originally Posted by Swa

LOL

So YOU decide when people are justified to rebel and when not? I don't have a problem with every region being ruled separately. More localised government, more accountability. If Spain held a referendum it would most likely have resulted in the outcome we saw as that's what the majority of polls indicated, why they didn't allow it.

They might have voted yes as well but wanted a legal referendum first. You keep dodging the questions I asked you. You claim 200 municipalities weren't able to vote. These aren't boycotts but being prevented to vote. So these would have been among the 'yes' and 'no' votes with likely the same 90%/10% outcome. How can you claim them to only count for the 'no' votes?

I donít decide when people can rebel or not. Making a parallel between the apartheid and Catalonia is at best insulting for the apartheidís victim, in one case there is loss of life, infringement of basic human rights. In the other, itís only political aspirations. See the international communityís support for Catalonia, check the one against apartheid, that would be an indicator.

More local government = more accountability ? This concept seems to have failed dismally in Spain since local government is very powerful and corruption is extremely spread. Just a few examples, billions of euros laundered in Marbella https://elpais.com/elpais/2013/10/04...45_783869.html

France or UK have much less local government and much less corruption. Catalonia is already an autonomous region governed according to their own laws, and still have plenty of corruption.

What did the polls indicate ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_independence
CEO poll (in favor/against format): against
CEO poll (independent state/federal state/autonomous/region): here you need to add federal, autonomous and region which all mean to remain in Spain, itís against a second time.

I never said the 200 municipalities would have voted no. I just said 200 could not vote (yes or no), never that these 200 should be counted as NO. This is pure invention. Everybody should be allowed to vote before a voting result can even start to be considered.

AND in addition, as another flaw the no camp boycotted an illegal referendum (which I would have done if I was in Catalonia and which relatives living there did).

With the 200, it would still probably be 90/10, you are right, and it would still be an illegal referendum where people could vote twice, with illegal non transparent ballot boxes and with a low turnout.

Therefore again this referendum is in no way accurate, representative and even less valid and the government should allow a proper referendum.

You would cry for international support, riot against the corrupt IEC if any election in South Africa was to be held this way and considered as legal. But itís in Catalonia, so it doesnít matter.

I don’t decide when people can rebel or not. Making a parallel between the apartheid and Catalonia is at best insulting for the apartheid’s victim, in one case there is loss of life, infringement of basic human rights. In the other, it’s only political aspirations. See the international community’s support for Catalonia, check the one against apartheid, that would be an indicator.

But you do. You can't justify it because apartheid is in your mind worse. And I don't care a fig about the international community who's looking out for their own interests. Apartheid had some powerful international supporters as well till they themselves collapsed.

Originally Posted by f2wohf

More local government = more accountability ? This concept seems to have failed dismally in Spain since local government is very powerful and corruption is extremely spread. Just a few examples, billions of euros laundered in Marbella https://elpais.com/elpais/2013/10/04...45_783869.html

More incentive to split. Switzerland would be a much better example.

Originally Posted by f2wohf

What did the polls indicate ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_independence
CEO poll (in favor/against format): against
CEO poll (independent state/federal state/autonomous/region): here you need to add federal, autonomous and region which all mean to remain in Spain, it’s against a second time.

Oh yes, two cherry picked polls. Let's just use them above most independent polls which showed both that most are in favour of independence and want an official referendum.

I never said the 200 municipalities would have voted no. I just said 200 could not vote (yes or no), never that these 200 should be counted as NO. This is pure invention. Everybody should be allowed to vote before a voting result can even start to be considered.

You count everyone who did not vote as boycotting the election when in fact most probably just couldn't vote. And how will everyone be allowed to vote if Spain doesn't want to sanction an official referendum?

Originally Posted by f2wohf

AND in addition, as another flaw the no camp boycotted an illegal referendum (which I would have done if I was in Catalonia and which relatives living there did).

So did many in the 'yes' camp because they want a legal referendum. Fact is you have no idea how the people who boycotted it or couldn't vote would have voted if it was sanctioned. They didn't even turn up in large numbers to protest a split. Heck the protest against Brexit was much larger. We only have those who managed to vote to go by.

Originally Posted by f2wohf

With the 200, it would still probably be 90/10, you are right, and it would still be an illegal referendum where people could vote twice, with illegal non transparent ballot boxes and with a low turnout.

The turnout was great in the areas where people could vote. At a glance it looks better than last year's SA elections. Of course it could be done better and legally but we all know who is to thank for that not being the case.

Originally Posted by f2wohf

Therefore again this referendum is in no way accurate, representative and even less valid and the government should allow a proper referendum.

It may not be 100% accurate and no referendum ever is but it was representative enough to draw a conclusion that in a legal referendum the outcome would probably result in a split. I'm glad we are on the same page w.r.t. a legal referendum.

Originally Posted by f2wohf

You would cry for international support, riot against the corrupt IEC if any election in South Africa was to be held this way and considered as legal. But it’s in Catalonia, so it doesn’t matter.

Incorrect. Catalonia is being hampered by Spain. But if they can manage independence and keep Spain out they can hold a legal referendum. My only stake in this is that any region or nation which desires independence should have it.

It may not be 100% accurate and no referendum ever is but it was representative enough

Just a few comments.

I never asked you to agree with the international communityís as being a fair rule of need for intervention or for legitimacy. I use it and itís only my opinion.

Not cherry picked polls, the polls recognized as being the most accurate, done by the Catalan government (who is pro independence).

The turnout and the municipalities not able to vote are only two of the 20+ issues of irregularities.

Local government might work in Switzerland where it is a system for centuries but different culture, different outcomes, it doesnít work in Spain who is culturally used to a much more centralized government (even though much more decentralized than France for example). You can fight all you want on local government, globally itís never been proven to work better.

I tried to look for yes voters boycotting the referendum - even in pro independence Catalan newspapers I canít find. Please provide proof.

Itís not that itís not 100% accurate, thereís fraud, thereís no respect for the electoral rules. Itís 0% complete and worth the same than a poll. You are either compliant or not.

Speculating and fighting on a supposed imaginary result is stupid and a waste of time since it didnít and wonít happen.